


Science Class Nightmare

by OwenIsConfused



Category: Danny Phantom
Genre: Dissection, Electric Core AU, Gen, Lichtenberg Figures, Minor Angst, Vivisection, fangs
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-06
Updated: 2020-05-06
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:48:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,370
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24029902
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OwenIsConfused/pseuds/OwenIsConfused
Summary: A new unit in science led by Danny’s parents leads to trouble.
Comments: 6
Kudos: 101





	Science Class Nightmare

**Author's Note:**

> Takes place during Danny’s Junior year, and during current times rather than early 2000’s because idk about that shit. (edit: i realized while writing the next chapters that i forgot to add the last scene for this chapter, so this chapter is a tad longer now)

Being in public with ghostly features in a town highly antagonistic towards ghosts wasn’t Danny’s brightest moment, but with his attendance record being unnecessarily late seemed worse. Though under these circumstances, lateness was guaranteed. With his luck it should have been expected that his parent’s recent decision to turn on the ghost shield whenever they left would impede him eventually. Unfortunately, of all days for them to actually leave Fenton Works it had to be the day when he was beginning a new ‘mystery’ unit in science.  
  
A low growl slipped between slightly bared fangs. To any passerby it would’ve sounded almost demonically threatening, however, a trained ear could tell it was a pained and desperate thing. The momentary lapse of control allowed panic to fully set in, as illogical as it was, while eyes, long since turned green, crackled like the surrounding air. Danny, now kneeling, pushed weakly against the shield while his soft sobs were swallowed into the electricity he himself generated. Inconvenient panic attacks: the price of living a double life. Without support, they became much worse since intense emotion often awakened the ghostly, more instinctual side of him. Though, unlike the usual instantaneous transition into his ghost form, the gradual transformation during a panic attack was painful. This pain increased when a new surge of fear saw that the faint red Lichtenberg Figures that raced up his right side from fingertip to eye glowed green, bringing back memories of the original shock that gave birth to the hero Danny Phantom.  
  
“DANNY!”  
  
Hmm his name. The voice was familiar, but unreachable. Who was it?  
  
“Dude, are you alright?” It was Tucker and he sounded considerably closer than before, “Just breathe and I’ll disable the shield.”  
  
Danny felt himself being pulled into the comforting embrace of his friend, his panic slowly receding while Tucker tapped his phone wildly. Soon, he was only one push of a button away from disabling the ghost shield, but he held back as the bright green distorted Danny’s current appearance in the eyes of potential onlookers, and he wanted to protect his vulnerable friend from further strife. Instead, his phone was placed carefully to the side in favor of focusing solely on the figure seeking refuge in the crook of his neck. Danny was in no position to comprehend complex reasoning, so Tucker settled for simple platitudes that would settle him back into human form. He was always amazed that his friend could battle the strongest of foes without flinching yet fell apart easily when faced with the tamest of complications. But the mind is fickle, he supposed, and the trauma they’ve faced these last few years could hardly be considered healthy.  
  
“Tuck?” whispered the now fully human figure, startling Tucker out of his thoughts.  
  
Tucker pulled his friend into a more comfortable position beside him before questioning gently, “What happened buddy?”  
  
Danny took a shuddering breath. “I-I don’t know… I just saw the shield up a-and thought I’d be late and I j-just… panicked,” he said, barely whispering, tears welling up again as he recounted his thoughts.  
  
“Hey! Enough of that. You’re not gonna be late. I was just walking to school myself.”  
  
Seeing his friend in better shape gave Tucker the confidence to finish his task of shutting down the ghost shield. With the barrier down, the last bit of tension left the air allowing Danny to right himself and reach the sidewalk where he patiently waited for Tucker to get the shield back online. While it caused him trouble on the other side, it’s purpose was necessary. As the Fenton’s research expanded, their specimens grew more dangerous, creating the need for greater protection when unattended. Getting the shield up seemed to take less time however, so the two boys headed to school within seconds.  
  
~  
  
Two girls sat in companionable silence, making good use of their time before school officially began. All the other outdoor tables were occupied by students packed like sardines—a notable flaw to having so many friends, but the two girls were given a wide berth due to their reputation. Sam was reading a thick leather-bound book whose pages brushed against strands of her purple tipped hair, close enough to smell the ink while Valerie was hunched over the table, hands flying in a desperate scramble to finish her neglected homework. Occasionally their table would be graced with the presence of two others, but Danny and Tucker were late more often than not. That day in particular, they arrived five minutes before the first bell, sliding into the bench across Sam and Valerie.  
  
A “Good morning ladies” from Tucker fell on deaf ears. Instead Sam gave a noncommittal nod towards Danny.  
  
“Oof. Betrayal,” said Tucker.  
  
Sam, with razor sharp wit, quickly replied, “Are you gonna start crying if I don’t pay attention to you?”  
  
Noticing the beginnings of one of their legendary fights, Danny quickly cut in with: “What do you the mystery unit in science will be?”  
This seemed to pique Valerie’s interest, who hurriedly stuffed her homework in her bag before launching into her theory. With a mind ever-focused on the undead, it was hardly shocking when she began with a single word: “Ghosts.”  
  
“It’s pretty obvious.” She continued, “The latest series of school board meetings have all followed major ghost attacks, and our science teacher mentioned that the unit was chosen by the school board. Besides, this is Amity, what else could a super-secret and important unit possibly be about? The real question is: who’s teaching it? None of our teachers are even remotely qualified, and there’s no other reason why a week-long unit in every science class would have to be spread out over a month unless they hired a guest speaker. So, any guesses?”  
  
“You know… Danny’s parents left early this morning,” suggested Tucker, choosing his words carefully to avoid making any directly upsetting claims.  
  
It didn’t work, and he was met with three identical glares and a very resolute: “No.”  
  
The bell rang, cutting their conversation short, and they joined the swarm of students struggling to enter the building. They all went their separate ways for first period, but Danny would reunite with Valerie come third period when they had their highly anticipated science class. His earlier confidence concerning that matter was quickly dwindling. Why had his parents left so early? Knowing his rotten luck, Tucker may very well have made a good point. He shook his head. Even if he were right, Danny could at least ignore the problem for the next two periods, and deal with the problem when it came up. That thought calmed him considerably, so he trudged onward in a shaky sort of peace.  
  
~  
  
Fuck!  
  
It was third period, and Tucker was proven right.  
  
There they were. His parents. Standing in front of his class, all bright smiles, and polite waves. They may have been the picture of ghostly authority in Amity, but to Danny and Valerie they were a threat. With their ruthless opinions on ghosts that were based on doctored evidence, and their scientific respectability Jack and Maddie Fenton teaching impressionable youth was a truly terrifying thought for a halfa and his friends.  
  
Worse still were his classmates… well one in particular anyway. See, Wes Weston was little more than a nuisance, but his desire to expose Danny’s secret could become reality depending on what was taught. Knowing his parents, weapons and weaknesses were probably best case scenarios.  
  
“How’s everyone doing? Before I introduce this week’s unit, though you’ve probably all guessed what it is, please say hello to our guests Mr. and Mrs. Fenton,” began the AP Bio teacher before giving the necessary pause. “Naturally, as experts of the ectoplasmic, they’ll be instructing you on the basics of ghosts. You may have heard about the recent school board meetings that have been held. At these meeting it was decided that due to the increased number of major ghost attacks targeting the school, it’s essential for you students to learn about these foes. That’s all I have for you. For now, I’ll let our guests handle the rest.”  
  
“SO, YOU WANT TO LEARN HOW TO FIGHT GHOSTS!” burst out Jack, excitable as always.  
  
Maddie shook her head fondly at her husband’s antics, “Now Jack, we’re teaching them about ghosts, so they can protect themselves only if the need should arrive. Telling a bunch of teenagers to put their lives in danger would defeat our purpose here. That’s your first lesson kids; ghosts are all malicious things that should be avoided when possible. If you see a ghost call a professional and get to safety.”  
  
“Sorry Mads, and you’re right! The ghosts plaguing our town are trouble, but with a little learning you kids will be much safer!”  
  
“Perhaps with our limited class time you should cover the lesson plan,” interjected the teacher.  
  
“Quite right,” agreed Maddie, “We’ll start off easy on Monday with a basic introductory lesson about history and behavior, etc. The next day will cover natural occurrences of ectoplasmic materials. Think along the lines of anything found outside a manufactured setting. Wednesday is the most pertinent to your situation. Our inventions. While you may not have the same access to weaponry that we do, you can still apply this information in a practical situation. Specifically, which abilities and traits they target. Then you’ll learn all about ghost physiology on Thursday in preparation for our class on Friday. We have an extra special treat for you that last day: a live dissection! We’re bringing in a fresh specimen, and though it’d be too dangerous to have each of you perform on your own specimen, I promise you’ll still be getting up close and personal with the sample.”  
  
“Well put dear! Now… any questions?”  
  
The classroom erupted into chaos. Eager questions were raised with no regard to etiquette, for the anticipation of such an exciting unit was too much to bear. Three students however, looked less than happy about this turn of events. Danny had preemptively hid himself in the back having expected an onslaught of offensive misconceptions, but this… this whole unit was, in a word, disgusting. Valerie seemed to agree judging by her tightly clenched fists and murderous expression. She knew what such hateful lies could do to a person. She personally knew that pairing that hate with knowledge leads to action.  
  
Strangely, the third student was Wes who looked like he was about to throw up. Everyone knew that the Fenton’s were staunchly anti-ghost but hearing them cheerfully describe what was essentially torture was jarring. It was also commonly believed the Wes agreed with their viewpoint. While it was true that he had used their devices (don’t ask how he got them) in the past to aid his endeavors, he didn’t actually hate ghosts, nor did he think Danny Phantom was the root of all evil. He just thought it was stupidly obvious that Danny Fenton and Danny Phantom were the same person. With parents like these though, he was starting to regret his crusade.  
  
~  
  
Danny plopped down, utterly defeated, at the lunch table while Valerie donned a supportive air of barely suppressed rage.  
  
“That bad?” asked Sam  
  
All he could do in response was groan and bury his head in his arms.  
  
“Let’s just say we’ll have our work cut out for us,” fumed Valerie, “With what they have in store, I wouldn’t be surprised if the whole Ghost Zone rioted.”  
  
Tucker and Sam gave each other twin looks of confusion. Neither of them would have the unit for a couple of weeks, so they were completely in the dark. But, if Valerie’s rage and Danny’s sullenness were anything to go off of, it was probably worse than they were imagining.  
  
Sam broke the silence first. “Well,” she asked, “was Tucker right?”  
  
“Unfortunately,” groaned Danny, head still safely tucked within crossed arms.  
  
“Listen… can we explain this later?” asked Valerie, “It was a lot, and I don’t think the middle of the cafeteria is a could place to relive it.”  
  
“No worries Val,” said Tucker, “Y’all want to go to my house later? My parents won’t be home for a bit, so we’ll have privacy.”  
  
Danny emerged from his makeshift cocoon with a weak smile, “Sounds great Tuck.”  
  
~  
  
A heavy boot stomped down on the dusty wooden floor of Tucker’s attic, followed by Sam loudly proclaiming, “I can’t believe those assholes would pull this sort of bullshit!”  
  
“Sam,” interrupted Tucker, motioning towards Danny who had curled in on himself while Valerie took on the role of explaining the Fenton’s lesson plan.  
  
“I’m sorry, but it’s just so messed up, and—”  
  
“I get it,” sighed Danny, “and I agree, but I don’t think cussing them out is going to help us right now.”  
  
Valerie nodded along, and said, “We need to focus on the dissections. They’re teaching five classes per week over the nest month, so we’re potentially looking at twenty ghosts being tortured. Or they might choose to dissect the same ghost every time. Even if their ‘specimens’ are coming from the most lawless section of the Ghost Zone, this is too much.”  
  
“Just breaking them out is the simplest solution, but before we can do that we’ll have to figure out where they’re being kept, how they’re being held, if they’re planning on capturing more, et cetera, et cetera.”  
  
Tucker responded with a wide grin, “Why Sam, who do you think you’re talking to? With my tech skills gathering information won’t be a problem. Plus, if we fail to find everything we need we have can just do some good old fashioned snooping.”  
  
“Ok,” said Danny, “Sam and Tucker can handle information for now while Valerie and I head into the Ghost Zone to warn who we can, as well as continuing our usual patrols. Are we all in agreement?”  
  
His three friends nodded. They’d have to form a more detailed plan eventually, but the conversation had already lasted nearly an hour, and a weekend stretched out before them. For now, they were free to watch movies and snack on junk food like any normal group of teenagers who didn’t have the weight of the world on their shoulders.


End file.
